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Category: Foreign

  • Egypt’s Sisi, Blinken agree to intensify efforts toward Gaza ceasefire

    Egypt’s Sisi, Blinken agree to intensify efforts toward Gaza ceasefire
    Ceasefire
    Cairo, June 10, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN)  Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed on Monday to intensify efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
    In a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Sisi and Blinken reviewed the latest developments pertinent to joint efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza as well as a hostages-prisoners swap between Israel and Hamas.
    The meeting also discussed Egyptian efforts to secure access to humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
    Sisi emphasised the importance of international cooperation to remove obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the necessity to end the war in the region and prevent the escalation of conflict.
    He said the two-state solution should be implemented.
    The Israeli army launched a military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah in early May, then took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
    The move led to the closure of the vital crossing, with Egypt demanding Israeli withdrawal to resume the crossing’s operation.
    During the talks, Blinken expressed the U.S. appreciation for Egypt’s ongoing efforts on both the political and humanitarian tracks and its commitment to continuing work and coordination with Egypt to restore security and peace to the region.
    The United States, Egypt, and Qatar managed to mediate a week-long Israel-Hamas truce in late November 2023.
    However, Israel and Hamas, engaged in a deadly confrontation in Gaza since October 2023, failed to reach another ceasefire agreement after talks in Cairo in May.  (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannes.ng)
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    (Edited by Ummul Idris/Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Hungary detains 32 Ukrainians who fled across border

     

    Hungary detains 32 Ukrainians who fled across border

    Ukrainians

    Kiev, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Hungary has detained 32 Ukrainian citizens who fled across the border in a lorry, the Ukrainian border guard agency said on Monday.

    “The neighbouring side reported that they had discovered a vehicle and detained 32 Ukrainian citizens,” Andriy Demchenko Ukrainian border guard spokesman said.

    Demchenko acknowledged there had been speculation that the lorry belonged to the Ukrainian military on the basis of its green paint and black number plate, which is normally seen on army vehicles.

    But he said the truck is not believed to have come from the military.

    There was initially no confirmation from the Hungarian side.

    Martial law was imposed in Ukraine with the onset of Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and men of conscription age are barred from leaving the country with few exceptions.

    There are frequent attempts by men trying to illegally flee across the border into neighbouring EU states and Moldova.

    The bodies of those, who fled have been found in the border river Tisza and in the Carpathian Mountains. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannes.ng)

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    Edited by Ummul Idris and Abiemwense Moru

  • Man sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering pregnant woman

    Imprisonment

    Copenhagen, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) A man in Denmark has been sentenced to life imprisonment and subsequent preventive detention after stabbing a heavily pregnant woman to death in 2016.

    The district court in Glostrup announced the sentence on Monday.

    The now 30-year-old man is said to have stabbed the woman 11 times with a knife in a park near Copenhagen and then cut off a piece of her nose, according to the court’s statement.

    The man denied the crime and his defence lawyer said that he would appeal against the judgment.

    The murder weapon has still not been found and there is no technical evidence such as fingerprints or DNA to prove the man’s guilt.

    In 2020, the police deployed an undercover investigator as a cellmate of the suspect, who was serving a prison sentence for the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend.

    The undercover investigator recorded the man describing how he had killed the pregnant woman, which contributed to the court’s decision to find him guilty.(dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Halima Sheji

     

     

  • Academics Says 18m in UK suffering hearing loss

    Hearing

    London, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) More people are affected by hearing loss than previously thought, academics said as they estimated that 18 million people could be affected across the UK.

    Previous estimates suggested a figure of 12 million, but researchers have re-evaluated the existing data on the number of deaf people, those with hearing loss, and tinnitus.

    In a news paper, published in the International Journal of Audiology on Monday, experts used new calculations to estimate the number of people affected.

    Academics from the University of Manchester and University of Nottingham used data from the latest census carried out in Scotland in 2022 and the remainder of the UK in 2021 instead of the 2011 census.

    This is the first time the it included data on people with lower levels of hearing loss and also those who experience hearing loss in one ear.

    The national hearing loss charity RNID welcomed the new estimates and said the data now “captures the true total number of adults with hearing loss in the UK.”

    Prof. Kevin Munro, a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) senior investigator at the University of Manchester, said: “These data more accurately reflect the number of adults in the UK who have impaired hearing that will cause listening difficulty, especially in background noise.”

    Co-author Prof. Michael Akeroyd, NIHR senior investigator from the University of Nottingham, said: “The way we define hearing loss puts us at odds with most other countries.

    “By modernising these numbers, we align with the latest international practice. We hope it will encourage more people to realise how common hearing loss is.”

    Commenting on the analysis, Victoria Boelman, director of insight and policy at RNID, said: “RNID welcomes this new insight as a step forward in our understanding of the UK’s community of people with hearing loss.

    “The updated statistics now reflect and include the real-life experience of the 18 million people in the UK who have different and diverse experiences of deafness and hearing loss.

    “By previously excluding people with milder hearing loss or hearing loss in a single ear, society had effectively dismissed millions of people’s experiences and not factored them into national conversations.”

    Martin McLean, senior policy adviser at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “It’s good that it’s becoming more widely recognised that hearing loss of any level can significantly affect a person’s quality of life.

    He said, for instance, children and young people with even mild or unilateral deafness can experience difficulties that often seriously affect their confidence, language development and educational prospects.

    “We hope this new definition will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the impact that deafness of any level can have and lead to more action to support deaf people of all ages.

    “We firmly believe that, with the right support, there’s no reason why a deaf child shouldn’t be able to lead a happy, fulfilled and productive life.”McLean said.(dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Halima Sheji

     

  • ASEAN seeks to enhance disaster response

    ASEAN seeks to enhance disaster response

    Response

    Vientiane, June 10, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) The One ASEAN One Response (OAOR) Road show was launched on Monday and it was focused on enhancing disaster response mechanisms.

    The response mechanisms are for both Laos and the broader Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community.

    The event brought together key stakeholders to discuss regional cooperation and ASEAN regional disaster management mechanisms, Lao News Agency reported on Monday.

    The primary objective of the OAOR road show is to introduce and reinforce ASEAN regional disaster management mechanisms, demonstrating their connection within national and international frameworks.

    By fostering interoperability and cooperation, these mechanisms aimed to improve speed, scale, and solidarity of disaster response across ASEAN nations, said the report. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey

     

  • UK’s PM denies resignation reports, says he’s ‘energised’ by campaign

    UK’s PM denies resignation reports, says he’s ‘energised’ by campaign

    Rumours

    London, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he had not considered quitting ahead of the election amid the continued fallout over his early departure from D-Day commemorations.

    Sunak vowed to carry on “until the last day of this campaign” as he sought to dampen reports that he might resign ahead of polling day on July 4.

    Criticism of his early exit from the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings dogged the British prime minister over the weekend when he kept a low profile and avoided questions from reporters.

    He was out campaigning on Monday, where he said that he would not stop “fighting for the future of our country.”

    Asked whether resigning had crossed his mind, Sunak told broadcasters during a visit to the Dog and Bacon pub in Horsham: “No, of course not.

    “I’m energised about the vision that we’re putting forward for the country.

    “This campaign is not even halfway through yet, and I’m finding an enormous amount of support for the policies that we’re putting on the table.”

    On the rumours, he also told reporters on the campaign trail: “People are gonna say what they’re gonna say.”

    “There are lots of people who want to write me off, write this off, say this campaign or the election is a foregone conclusion.”

    Sunak added: “The reality is I’m not going to stop going, I’m not going to stop fighting for people’s votes, I’m not going to stop fighting for the future of our country.”

    The prime minister also struck a renewed conciliatory tone over his D-Day departure, telling reporters he “absolutely didn’t mean to cause anyone any hurt or upset.”

    “I just hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me and look at my actions that I have taken as a prime minister, both to support our armed forces with an increase in defence spending.

    “I also have a minister focused on veterans affairs around the Cabinet table, making sure this is the best country in the world to be a veteran,” he added.

    Chris Philp, a Home Office minister and Sunak ally, earlier conceded that he was surprised and disappointed by the prime minister’s early D-Day exit.

    But he said the prime minister would be back bouncing around the campaign trail this week and would be talking to journalists whenever they want to ask him some questions.

    It came as the Liberal Democrats launch their full election manifesto, with an offer of a 9.4 billion Pounds (11.9 billion dollars) package for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and social care in England. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    (Edited by Cecilia Odey/Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Belgian king accepts prime minister’s resignation after elections

    Election

    Brussels, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Belgian King Philippe on Monday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, as is normal after elections in Belgium.

    De Croo’s coalition government will stay on as a caretaker until a new coalition is formed, the prime minister said on the social media platform X.

    The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) a conservative and Flemish separatist group came first in the elections, as they did in the last election in 2019.

    However, the N-VA remained in opposition, while De Croo’s Flemish liberal Open VLD eventually formed a seven-party coalition.

    Belgian politics is fractious and split almost entirely on linguistic lines between the Dutch-speaking Flemings and the French-speaking Walloons.

    There is very little direct competition for votes between the parties of the two languages, which largely compete amongst themselves separately.

    The final results on Monday shows the conservative N-VA with 24 of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, having lost one seat.

    The more extreme Flemish-nationalist party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) has 20  a gain of two as does the French-speaking liberal Reformist Movement (MR), which gained four.

    De Croo’s OpenVLD performed poorly, losing five of its 12 seats, leaving it with seven.

    The MR was the only coalition partner to gain seats.

    The Flemish social democratic Vooruit, also a coalition partner, held on to its 13 seats, though it made no net gain.

    The remaining four parties in the outgoing coalition all suffered losses, especially the French speaking green party Ecolo, which lost 10 seats, leaving it with just three.

    The Belgian federal election was held on the same day as the European Parliament election. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Halima Sheji

     

  • Australian govt. to use TikTok in anti-smoking, vaping campaign

    Australian govt. to use TikTok in anti-smoking, vaping campaign

    Campaign

    Canberra, June 10, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) The Australian government on Monday started a new campaign encouraging people to quit smoking and vaping.

    Mark Butler, the minister for health, announced a 63.4 million Australian dollars (41.7 million U.S. dollars) advertising campaign to raise awareness about the health harms of smoking and vaping.

    The campaign marked the first time that the Federal Government has advertised to the public about the risks and harms of vaping and its first national anti-smoking advertising campaign for almost 10 years.

    The campaign would run across television, radio and social media.

    For the first time, TikTok would be used in a Federal Government advertising campaign.

    “Nicotine is highly addictive and before you know it, what starts as an occasional thing becomes something much more serious.

    “But it’s never too late to quit,’’ Butler said in a statement.

    According to NGO the Cancer Council, tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia, accounting for 24,000 deaths every year.

    The government’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey for 2022-23, which was released in February, found that 21 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 and 9.7 per cent of those aged 14-17.

    These categories used an e-cigarette in the previous 12 months, up from 5.3 and 1.8 per cent in 2019, respectively.

    Butler in March introduced legislation to parliament that would outlaw the domestic manufacturing, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic and disposable single-use vapes in Australia.

    The government in January banned the import of disposable, single-use vapes. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

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  • Ukrainian reconstruction chief resigns ahead of Berlin conference

    Resignation

    Kiev, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The head of the Ukrainian agency for reconstruction, Mustafa Nayyem, handed his resignation shortly before the start of the next round of talks on rebuilding Ukraine began in Berlin.

    “Since November 2023, the agency’s team has been confronted with constant resistance and the creation of artificial obstacles,” Nayyem wrote on Facebook on Monday.

    Nayyem in his post lamented the underfunding of his agency and excessive bureaucracy, which delayed reconstruction measures.

    Further work became impossible since the dismissal of Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov at the beginning of May.

    Nayyem’s resignation was prompted by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s refusal to authorise a business trip to the reconstruction conference in Berlin.

    The third international conference to date was planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.

    According to a media report, a large part of Nayyem’s team is also quitting, which calls the agency’s future work into question.

    Nayyem, a former journalist, has headed the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development since January 2023.

    He first became internationally known for his prominent role in starting the 2013 pro-Western protests in Ukraine.

    The war in Ukraine was estimated to have caused damage to several hundred billion dollars since Russia started it more than two years ago. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Halima Sheji

     

  • Press Hamas to accept ceasefire deal, Blinken urges Mideast states

    Deal

    Cairo, June 10, 2024 (dpa/NAN) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Middle Eastern governments to pressure Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement to accept U.S. President Joe Biden proposal to end the war in Gaza.

    “My message to governments throughout the region and people throughout the region: If you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes,” he said shortly before leaving Egypt.

    “If you want to alleviate the terrible suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, press Hamas to say yes. If you want to get the hostages home, press Hamas to say yes,” Blinken added.

    Countries in the region and around the world have endorsed the three-phase plan, while “the only party that has not said yes is Hamas,” Blinken said on Monday.

    Blinken said that Israel has accepted Biden’s proposal, and they were critical in putting it forward.

    However, there has not been clear public approval from the Israeli government.

    Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s conditions for an end to the war had not changed. These included the total destruction of Hamas and the release of all the hostages.

    Reaching a ceasefire deal also “opens the path to more durable security, calm, peace in Gaza and for that it is critical that we continue to work on plans for the day after,” Blinken added.

    Qatar, the United States and Egypt have been mediating for months to achieve a ceasefire and exchange hostages kept by the militant group for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

    Blinken arrived in Cairo on Monday for a meeting with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on the first leg of his Middle East tour aimed at brokering an end the ongoing Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.

    Egypt’s presidency said in a statement that the two reviewed joint efforts to reach a ceasefire and exchange hostages, and have agreed to intensify efforts during the current stage.

    Al-Sissi stressed the importance of concerted international efforts to remove obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid, ending the war and preventing the expansion of the conflict, the statement added.

    After Egypt, Blinken plans to head to Israel. His tour is also expected to include Jordan and Qatar and to last until Wednesday.(dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Halima Sheji